Berty_K
Member
Hi folks- I've been chasing down an engine whine for some time, and I'm happy to share I've finally fixed it. Wanted to share my findings with ya'll and share some important advice (hint in title).
In this thread (https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/291059-engine-whine.html), I stumble through a couple theories about the cause of the whine (alternator, weak battery, pulleys, etc), but never solve the riddle. But, if you read carefully, you'll notice one of my observations was that the sound seemed to be coming from the oil filter area.
After all the new parts, I reluctantly came to conclude either (1) my timing chain was wearing or (2) my oil pump was starting to die. Both were not repairs I wanted to pursue without being 100% sure, so I chose to live with the whine till more symptoms surfaced.
Recently, I remembered reading about a plague of fake Toyota filters from online retailers. So I decided to order a filter from my local Toyota Dealer for ~$5, or about the same price I paid on Amazon for a 5 pack.
Comparing the Amazon filters to the Dealer filters, I could immediately see the print appeared different. See for yourself:
Front Dealer
Front Amazon
Rear Dealer
Rear Amazon
The story goes on
I went ahead and swapped the filter on my car, which had begun to whine almost immediately after a fresh oil change, with the dealer filter. Immediately, the whine went away and hasn't come back for a couple hundred miles.
What's especially frustrating is that I bought filters off Amazon from a "Toyota Dealer," not some random reseller.
At this point, I'm relieved the whine is gone, but frustrated I've been running counterfeit filters. I'm guessing my engine wore a bit faster with these filters, but it seems to be running just fine.
Going forward, I'll be buying filters only from the dealer. This is a no-brainer given the amazon price is nearly identical.
I'm no mechanic, but I'd recommend ya'll do the same.
In this thread (https://www.toyota-4runner.org/4th-gen-t4rs/291059-engine-whine.html), I stumble through a couple theories about the cause of the whine (alternator, weak battery, pulleys, etc), but never solve the riddle. But, if you read carefully, you'll notice one of my observations was that the sound seemed to be coming from the oil filter area.
After all the new parts, I reluctantly came to conclude either (1) my timing chain was wearing or (2) my oil pump was starting to die. Both were not repairs I wanted to pursue without being 100% sure, so I chose to live with the whine till more symptoms surfaced.
Recently, I remembered reading about a plague of fake Toyota filters from online retailers. So I decided to order a filter from my local Toyota Dealer for ~$5, or about the same price I paid on Amazon for a 5 pack.
Comparing the Amazon filters to the Dealer filters, I could immediately see the print appeared different. See for yourself:
Front Dealer
Front Amazon
Rear Dealer
Rear Amazon
The story goes on
I went ahead and swapped the filter on my car, which had begun to whine almost immediately after a fresh oil change, with the dealer filter. Immediately, the whine went away and hasn't come back for a couple hundred miles.
What's especially frustrating is that I bought filters off Amazon from a "Toyota Dealer," not some random reseller.
At this point, I'm relieved the whine is gone, but frustrated I've been running counterfeit filters. I'm guessing my engine wore a bit faster with these filters, but it seems to be running just fine.
Going forward, I'll be buying filters only from the dealer. This is a no-brainer given the amazon price is nearly identical.
I'm no mechanic, but I'd recommend ya'll do the same.
